Football: CU Buffs try to stay positive

Colorado to visit No. 11 Southern Cal on Saturday

Already, the Colorado football team has had losses by 55 points, 34 points and 28 points.

And, that was during the easy half of the schedule.

On Saturday, the Buffaloes (1-5, 1-2 Pac-12) begin a brutal stretch of games by visiting No. 11 Southern California (5-1, 3-1) at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

As of Tuesday, Colorado was a 41-point underdog. It's only the seventh time since the start of the 2007 season that a BCS conference school has been a 40-plus point underdog; it's the fifth time in those seven games that USC has been the favorite.

"I don't really worry about that (point spread), I really don't," CU head coach Jon Embree said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. "It doesn't change how you prepare. You have to go out and prepare and do everything that you would normally. I don't read the papers or any of that stuff, so it doesn't affect me.

"As coaches, we just have to be positive on the field and do a good job of leading them and preparing them and then going out and playing the game."

Saturday's game would appear to be the toughest challenge yet for CU. Southern Cal features a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback (Matt Barkley), two all-American candidates at wide receiver (Marqise Lee and Robert Woods), two of the nation's best running backs (Silas Redd and Curtis McNeal) and a postseason award candidate at center (Khaled Holmes). And, that's just the offense.

On defense, the Trojans have safety T.J.

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McDonald, who is one of the top defensive players in the country. Defensive end Morgan Breslin and linebacker Dion Bailey are also playing at an all-American level.

Add in the fact that USC is 56-7 at the Coliseum since 2002 and it's clear the Buffs have a daunting task ahead.

"I want to play the best and they have some of the best guys in the nation," Colorado defensive back Parker Orms said. "Their whole team is NFL guys and I just want to see how I can match up against them.

"I know our guys aren't afraid or anything like that. We're anxious to get out there and see how we can match up with them."

Embree said the point spread could be a motivating factor for the Buffs, but in reality, the only thing that matters is how the team works during the week.

"You have to prepare in a certain way if you're going to go out and win any game," Embree said. "It's important that we have a great practice today. That's all we can control."

To this point, the Buffs have had a disappointing season, but Orms said he and his teammates haven't stopped fighting.

"We have a lot of guys that are discouraged, but we have coaches that have been pushing us every week," he said. "The first half of the season didn't go well, but we have six more games left and you can either try to turn that around or you can just give up."

Notable

Embree said as of Tuesday afternoon the Buffs aren't sure of the playing status of safety Ray Polk and running back Christian Powell, who are both battling ankle injuries. Chidera Uzo-Diribe and Doug Rippy should play. ... Linebacker Brady Daigh is doing well after being carted off the field Thursday against Arizona State. Daigh is back practicing with the team. ... USC is 3-1 as a 40-plus point favorite since 2007; the Trojans lost 24-23 to Stanford as a 41-point favorite in 2007. ... USC has won 17 consecutive games in which it was favored by at least 20 points.

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